He's Doing It For You
by B L Roth
Summary: Beckett is ready to put everything behind her and have a happy life, with Castle. She's on her way to tell him just that and ends up seeing Alexis at the door. Also .. I don't own Castle or these characters.


This was important, she told herself as the elevator moved upward a little more quickly than she liked.

She had a lot of baggage in her life, and some of it she would never truly be okay with. But she was ready to put all of it behind her. There was nothing left for her to pursue, just a hundred dead ends bringing her back to square one. She would never have a truly happy life if in the back of her mind, she was always at square one. It was time to put this all to rest.

Right now, she was on her way to do just that. Detective Kate Beckett was standing in an elevator, heading up to the Castle's loft. But it was going too fast. She needed more time, to sort things out in her mind and figure out how to do this right.

But it was too late. The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. She stepped out and made her way over to the door, her mind practically blowing up with all the thoughts floating around. You couldn't tell from looking at her though. Beckett had had plenty of practice keeping herself calm and collected.

She knocked on the door and a few moments later the door swung open.

Beckett had a speech all planned out for this moment, but was then caught by surprise when it wasn't Castle looking out at her. So much for that. Her words left her as she stood there in the hallway looking in at Alexis, who seemed just as surprised to see her drop by.

"Hey, Detective Beckett," Alexis said. "Come on in."

"Hi Alexis," Beckett said once she was in the door, but she still didn't know how to do this and fumbled over her next sentence. "I was just .. um.."

"Go ahead and help yourself to a drink or something. I'll just go get my dad," Alexis decided. She apparently didn't think anything was out of the ordinary.

"Actually," Beckett announced and caught her attention, "Can I talk to you?"

She came over her to talk to Castle originally, but this seemed like a better idea. Before Alexis had started shadowing Lanie at the morgue, the two didn't really talk all that much. As a matter of fact, this past year Alexis hadn't been up to the precinct to visit at all like she had the first couple years Castle had shadowed her. If she wanted to do this right, talking to Alexis could be a good place to start.

"Um .. yea sure," Alexis said, obviously unsure of where this was going. "Let me just put this stuff away."

Beckett looked over to the sitting area, which was covered with notecards, books and study materials. Great, apparently she had interrupted some hardcore studying.

"Sorry, I was just studying for my big Physics final next week. Just wanna be prepared, you know?" Alexis stated, clearing off the sofa to make room for them to sit.

"Yea, I remember those days. Science was never my strong suit," said Beckett, keeping it light for the moment.

Both of them moved over to sit on the sofa. They both sat on opposite ends and it almost felt uncomfortably far away until Alexis turned toward Beckett and curled her legs up on the seat. "So, what's up?" the girl asked, getting right down to business.

Beckett had never really had to start this kind of conversation. Well here goes nothing, she thought trying to find the right words. "I wanted to talk about your dad," she said, diving right into it. "I want you to know how important he is to me."

Alexis didn't say anything back yet, so she just gave it a moment to let her words sink in before she continued.

"When he first started following me, I wasn't the same person I am today. I was smart, and good at my job, but that wasn't enough. With cops, the things we do and the cases we take, it takes a toll on us. You can't see the heartbreak and the gruesome acts and the evil people we see all the time and be okay with the world. And in my case, the heartbreak definitely hits home when I can relate to losing someone. Your dad, he just showed up and took it all so lightly and made the cases more fun. It makes some of that heartbreak easier to handle and it's harder working without him anymore."

Alexis looked at Beckett with wide blue eyes with a hint of a smile, but soon the smile vanished and she finally had something to say.

"I get that my dad is good at solving cases, and that he keeps everything light because he's still practically a kid himself. But don't you see it? You say the cases take a toll on you, seeing the things you see every single day. He's not immune, those things take a toll on him, too. He puts himself out there, because murder is so fascinating to him. But he's not a cop, he doesn't even get to carry a gun. What happens the next time he gets a call from Mr. Smith, or the next time he's held hostage, or the next time he tries to tackle you to the ground and jump in front of the bullet? Where does that leave him?"

Beckett sat in shock. That was not the response she was expecting to say the least. Not to mention that Alexis had some great points. At first, Castle followed her around on orders. Then she'd just gotten so used to him being there. Of course she didn't want him to get hurt, and she had made it her mission to keep him safe when he was in that bank, but she didn't think about his safety every day when they did a take down and he would follow them in before the room was clear. Or when … wait. A call from Mr. Smith?

"Who's Mr. Smith?" she asked curiously.

"Wait you don't… Mr. Smith. He's the guy from your mother's case. The one that calls my dad whenever you start looking where you're not supposed to," Alexis said matter-of-factly, like it was common knowledge. Apparently she didn't know that Beckett had no idea what her father was hiding.

"What do you mean looking where I'm not supposed to?"

Alexis could tell now by Beckett's paleness and expression that she had let something slip, but she couldn't just stop now. Maybe she could fix this and let Beckett see her dad's side.

"Like when you were investigating the Mayor's case, or with those files in the warehouse that got burned down. Look, he calls my dad to get you to back off. If you don't, whoever's behind it all, your mom's case and your shooting, he'll kill you."

Beckett's heart fluttered and stomach sank. What?

Alexis continued before she could say anything, "but look, he talked to my dad. He said if you stay off of the case you'll be safe. My dad has been trying to solve this thing and help put it behind you. He wants to give you closure and keep you safe. He told me that even though you're the cop, sometimes you're the one who needs some protection, too. And that's what he's doing. I know it's out of line, but please don't hate him. All of this, everything he's doing, he's doing it for you."

_Everything he's doing, he's doing it for you._

Beckett was furious and hurt and touched all at once. How could he do this? He _lied _ to her. She lied to though, to protect his feelings while she sorted through her own. She hadn't been ready. Maybe he just wasn't ready either.

But how could he go behind her back? She was the cop. She was the one sworn to protect and serve. And this was her life!

"I know you're mad. But what about me? He's my dad and he's putting himself in danger every day! It's not like one of his books, people in the real world are dangerous!" Alexis exclaimed from her seat on the sofa while Beckett was pacing the living room. When had she even gotten up?

They were both fuming, but that seemed to bring Beckett back to the here and the now. She saw Alexis' concerned face and came to a realization.

She can't freak out over her mom's case anymore. That's why she had come here in the first place, to put it behind her. She wanted to have a life with Richard Castle and that was the first step in the right direction, but she would have to have a serious talk with him later. As for right now, she was still with Alexis.

She sat down next to her and took her hand. "Do you remember the day you volunteered at the Precinct and found that picture book?"

Alexis nodded.

"Well you solved the case of who it belonged to and gave it back to the owner. And now you work with Lanie, which is a big part in helping solve our murder cases. How does that make you feel?"

Alexis looked at her with big blue eyes. They were so much like her father's and at the moment on the verge of tears from their previous conversation. "It makes me feel important and good. I'm helping those people who lost someone, and helping put killers behind bars."

"Solving a case does feel good. It's a feeling I wouldn't trade for the world. Your father feels it, too. We've had some pretty huge cases, and he's the reason we've closed some of them. I know the work is dangerous, but he loves it. He's doing so much good for the city and we need him just as much as he needs us. I love him … um .. working with him I mean."

Alexis nodded with sincerity. "I get it. I really do. It just worries me, you know?"

"Yea I know."

Alexis looked up at her again. "Just promise me one thing? Keep him safe, Detective Beckett. Just do everything you can."

Beckett looked at her and smiled. "I promise. Oh, and you can call me Kate."

Alexis smiled back at her. Wow had this gone so much differently than she had planned. Just an hour earlier, she had planned to walk through that front door and tell Castle she was done. Done with her mom's case and this subtle relationship between the two. She wanted the real thing.

Beckett was about to stand up and heard a door open. Castle himself walked into the room.

"Hey, Alexis I don't know if you're … oh. Hey Beckett, I didn't hear you come in." he said locking eyes with her. "What's up?"

Beckett looked at him and smiled. She walked over to him and grabbed his hand, "I was off duty today and wanted to see if you wanted to come have lunch with me." Then she looked over and saw Alexis getting off the sofa to head up the stairs and said, "Alexis, too."

Castle looked at her holding his hand and then over at his daughter. "Sounds great, I was just going to make something. Alexis, you in?"

Alexis nodded and went to grab her shoes.

Castle looked down at Beckett and their conjoined hands, raising an eyebrow in question. Beckett smiled and let go of his hand. She grabbed his chin to tip it up and left a kiss on his cheek before sauntering off toward the door.

This was definitely a step in the right direction.


End file.
